Seth was facing off against Therus for another round of sparring. Both of them were quite busy, but they still made time to spar every few days. A quiet, mutual nod marked the start of the bout. They both launched themselves toward the center of the practice area. Therus took the initiative by aggressively pushing Seth back, keeping him out of range. Seth bounced back and forth, trying to find a path forward to launch his own attack, parrying with his brass knuckles as necessary.

  His initial worries about training with Zerek had been unfounded. Instead, he discovered the qi within his body moved more freely than before, allowing him to slip back and forth faster, and push Therus more aggressively. Zerek still called his technique a child's, but there was only so much they could do in two weeks. He was more than satisfied with the results, and eager to show his friend what he learned.

  Therus seemed just as eager to showcase his own progress. He had somehow managed to get himself some odd jobs and training as well. For all of Seth's increased mobility and control, Therus was coming at him with even more speed and power. This dance of testing each other's strengths and weaknesses went on for about fifteen seconds or so.

  The first break in the fight was when Seth left a weakness exposed, trying to bait Therus into overcommitting. Therus took the bait, and after parrying a blow that was far too close for comfort, Seth slipped inside his guard. Therus didn't get flustered, however, and kicked at Seth. The kick forced Seth to block and halted his advance, giving Therus enough time to adjust how he was holding the staff. Not wanting to lose his momentum, Seth used his knuckles to beat the staff aside while closing in and attempting a trip.

  He caught a qi empowered kick in the shoulder for his trouble. It was powerful enough to blast him backward several feet, but fortunately not enough to do any real damage. As a result, they were back to where they started. Which, considering Seth was the only one to take actual blows, was not a good thing.

  Not giving him a chance to recover, Therus leapt forward to try and end the bout. Seth blocked, but Therus gave him no room to counter-attack. In addition, Therus' attacks continued to get faster, his moves getting harder and harder to keep up with. The fight ended when Seth tried attacking the staff, only for Therus to redirect and use it to sweep Seth's legs out from under him. Before he could recover his footing, one of the ends of the staff was at his throat.

  "Damn, you're getting fast," said Seth, smiling up at Therus.

  "Had a bit of a breakthrough in qi gathering," said Therus, with a smile. His smile dropped, before adding, "Are you having cultivation issues? It seems like you aren't getting any stronger."

  "Yeah," said Seth, worry tightening his chest. He had been trying to avoid thinking about it by throwing himself into his new duties and training. For all he had been learning, he hadn't gotten any closer to solving the problem of his cancer getting worse. He ran a thumb against the rope of flesh running right under his skin, a constant reminder of his problems.

  After that tumor had expanded that time, his cancer had remained unnervingly quiet. The damn tumors seemed content to leave him alive and leech off his effort. Lately, the leeching had been thorough, only leaving Seth enough to recover his daily qi usage. To add insult to injury, the cancer continued to cultivate when he was doing other things, like fighting.

  "We still have time before it becomes a real problem," said Therus.

  "We? I'm pretty sure you don't have cancer," Seth said.

  "True, but I'm not going to abandon my only ally when it gains me nothing."

  "So if it were to gain you something..." started Seth.

  "Oh, I'd leave you behind in a heartbeat," said Therus, and both of them laughed.

  "Seriously, though," continued Therus, "we'll figure something out. You have some ideas, right?"

  Seth nodded, but didn't respond. He did have some ideas, though most of them were almost suicidal. The least suicidal of those ideas was going out and trying to see if some ruins on this world had a technique or medicine to help heal him. In his most desperate moments, he entertained the idea of getting some healing pills and trying to cut the tumors out himself.

  Without another word, they left their little training hall. The lights were just starting to fade, leaving the place with an ethereal glow. He had seen the sight a hundred times by now, but tonight it tugged at his soul. He thought about sunrises and sunsets spent with his kids, his parents, as well as friends and lovers. The happy memories were so vivid, he forgot he was at the sect for a minute. He was at home, with a loving family that supported him. Then reality came smashing in, shattering the illusion. At that moment, he wished with every fiber of his being that he could speak with his kids one more time. Hell, he'd settle for his ex-wife.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "You OK?" asked Therus, concern on his face.

  "Yeah. Just worried," said Seth.

  They spent a little more time walking together before going their separate ways. Seth went back to his room, where he tried to cultivate. No matter what he tried, he couldn't keep a scrap of it for himself. It all went to the invaders in his body. He swore he could feel them greedily suck away his energy, a parasite bleeding him dry.

  He kept at it until he was on the verge of exhaustion. He seemed to be the only one exhausted, though; the cancer continued to draw in qi. Frustrated, he activated his qi sight and tried to look at what his cancer was doing. He could see the tumor in his thigh drawing in energy slowly and steadily. He couldn't catch the details, as using the skill was like trying to look through a frosted glass window covered in Vaseline. He spent hours experimenting with the qi sight incantation, desperately trying everything he could think of to get just a little more clarity.

  He eventually performed one incantation that was breathtakingly clear. He could see the cancer's qi dance in a strange manner that resembled his own dance in a loose way, like how a person doing the worm compared to a real worm.

  The next several hours were spent trying to get his qi to do the same dance the cancer's was doing. He was feeling delirious by the time the light came back to the sect, but he was finally seeing some success. He could feel a tiny trickle of qi entering his own body instead of his tumors, and he started laughing. The laughter broke his focus, ending the technique, but all he could do was laugh and laugh.

  If only the testing weren't tomorrow. While his control had certainly grown, his reserves had not.

  Johan POV

  "You do realize that not even you can throw around accusations like that, right?" asked Samuel, his face a smile that began and ended at his mouth. The strong orange light in Samuel's home cast everything in a dreamlike sameness that transformed the expression from somewhat intimidating to downright menacing.

  Johan kept his face neutral. He was aware of the risk he was taking here. However, the problem of Seth and Therus needed to be contained immediately. It was bad enough when they had aggressively gone after his own people, forcing him to spend what few favors he had to keep his power base intact. As if to spit on his efforts, they still got the resources he tried to deny them, all while building their own power base. No, this problem needed to end here.

  "I apologize, senior brother. I was simply expressing my concern for senior brother Bacchus. I know he's a kind soul, but that can lead to certain...mistakes that would be bad for the sect."

  "And what, exactly, are you asking me to do?" asked Samuel.

  "I'm simply asking you to give him a break during tomorrow's testing, and..."

  "use the more accurate measurements, yes? Why?"

  "I've heard about the problems with the karmic seal. I know the sect normally prefers to use the more granular measurements, but given the element of interpretation..."

  "I see what you're getting at. And this has absolutely nothing to do with your spat with initiate Seth, right?"

  "Of course no..."

  "Do not lie to me, initiate," said Samuel, the smile on his face gone, his eyes boring straight into Johan's soul.

  "Apologies, senior brother. I will admit that my dispute with my fellow initiate plays a role in me asking for this," Johan said, not daring to try and twist the truth further. He had heard stories about what Samuel could do when you annoyed him, and had no desire to test that further. His family may take action against the sect if Samuel killed him, but he'd still be dead.

  "Very well," said Samuel, the smile back as if it had never left. "I am also concerned about my dear brother disciple. Thank you for bringing this to my attention."

  "I am happy to be of aid," Johan said. Samuel turned to walk away, and Johan did the same. As he walked away, he smiled, happy with the result. He was also grateful that he had gotten the last ranking list of initiates a week prior to this meeting. Therus was out of range of the cutoff. Seth, however, had been sixtieth from the bottom at the last measurement. Given that he also controlled the better resources of the sect, it was only a matter of time until Seth found himself in that bottom group. Then, any protection he had would fade, and Johan would be done with him forever.

  Seth POV

  The next day, Seth and the other initiates were standing in the main courtyard, waiting for their testing. He was an odd mix of terrified and fighting to not pass out on the spot from exhaustion. The last two months had passed in a flash, and Seth felt like he didn't have much to show for them. He had gotten more skilled, sure, but he was still falling behind, and at this rate would need a miracle to catch up.

  The Grandmaster, along with ten initiates, appeared on stage. The initiates were not visibly bound, though their struggles against empty air made it clear some technique bound them. Some were pleading for their lives, while others just struggled. Against this backdrop, the test began. When the orb got to him, he was surprised to see Samuel was the one holding it. Not that he was stupid enough to ask the question. Without a word, he put his hands to the orb, doing all he could to compress the gas. Despite his best efforts, the Gas refused to compress any further than it did last time. Two months of training had led to no measurable progress.

  It took a while for the testing to complete, but it felt like it slipped right by. Thirty initiates flew up to the stage, lined up next to the ten that were already there. He was surprised that ten of the thirty were from his group, though he couldn't tell if that meant anything. He felt an odd mixture of relief, and shame at that feeling of relief. He forced his eyes to focus on the stage. The gruesome ritual began again with Bacchus and an initiate he still did not know the name of. Much the same as last time, initiates were refined into pills. The process went a little faster this time, and they had finished only a half hour after the last light had faded.

  The grandmaster collected the pills, then looked out over the crowd. Invisible chains started to bind initiates, flying them up to stage. Seth closed his eyes, as if somehow closing them would make him invisible to the grandmaster. All he could do was wait to see if he was next on the chopping block.